Automobile attachment.



0. T. BOTTS.

AUTOMOBILE ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION FILED JULY 14. 1915.

Patented J an. 4, '1916.

Witnesses Inventor Attdrneys lowin is a s )ecification.

oscan T. BUTTS, or BRooKFIELD; MISSOURL aU'roMo ILE ATTACHMENT.

To all whom it may) cone-em:

, Be it known that'I, QSCAR T. Bo'rTs, a citizen of the United States,residing at 'Brookfield, in the county of Linn and State of- M issourl,have mvented a new and useful AutomobileAttachment, of which the fol-The present invention appertains to automobile attachments and relatesmore particularly to an appliance for enabling the automobile or motorvehicle to be pulled. or extr1catedfrom a'rut orout of the de-'pression, mud or sand-1n which the maclnne is stuck. 7

It is the object of the invention to provide a novel and'improvedpullingmechanism'adapted to be assembled with the 'motor veh1cle in anadvantageous and desirable manner, to enable the machine tofextricateitself when circumstances necessitate it. It is also wlthln the scope ofthe invention'to provide an attachment of the nature indicatedwvhich issimple, compact and inexpensive in constructlon, which, may be readilyassembled with various motor vehicles, and which will fill its office ina thoroughly practical, convenient and efiicient manner.

\Vitlrthe foregoingand other objects in view which will appear'as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in .the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from'the'spirit of theinvention. v s I The invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, wherein Figure 1 is a planview'of the device.

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views on the lines 2-1-2 and 3-3,respectively, of Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a sectional new on the line 4-4 ofFig. 2. Fig. 5 is a sectional view onthe 15and is movable over the endof the crank line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

In carrying out. the invention a pair of bearings 1 are secured in anysuitable manner upon the chassis'or frame C of the motor vehicleadjacent the forward end thereof, and a transverse shaft2- is carried bythe bearings 1. upon the intermediate portion of the shaft 2 'and .'sinclosed in a suitable case 4, the hub 5 of the worm wheel 3 beingjournaled A worm wheel 3 is mounted" specification of Letters Patent. 1i Patented Jan, 4. 1916 Application filed July 14,1915. Serial No.39,856. 7

through the'sides of the case 4;. The hub' 5 is provided at its oppositeends with clutch portions 6 coiiperatinghvith clutch portions 'Tof apair of reels or drums 8 mounted for rotation upon theshaft 2 betweenthe case 4 and the bearings 1 It is to be understood,

reels, one of them may be eliminated, together with theaccompanying'parts, although -it is desirable in certain instances, toemploy the two reels, especially upon heavy motor trucks. Asuitablecable 9 is wound upon each reel 8. a

a In order to hold the reelsS in engagement \YItlLt-IIB clutch hub ofthe worm wheel-3,

so that the reels will rotate with said wheel,

however, that instead of employing two two arms "10 arewpivoted, asat11, to the chassis C and are provided at their free ends with hooks 12seatable upon the shaft 2 be- 7 tween'the, bearings 1 and the remote.ends of the reels. (hen the arms 10 are swung upwardly and rearwardly,the reels 8 can separate or move outwardly against the bearings 1, underthe influenceof coiled wire expansion springs 13 disposed between the freels and the worm wheel. The springs, 13-

a re preferably employed, although they lnay be eliminatedQif desired.When the reels 8 are moved .-outward1y against the-bearingsl,

the clutch portions 7 thereof are disengaged from the clutchportionslti, so that the'reels out interference.

,8 will remainidle, or may berotated with drical portion 14 throughwhich a. short shaft 15 is journaled, a' worm lG-being se-I cured uponthe shaftlo and meshing with the worm wheel 3. 4 The shaft 15 is inalinement with andextends to the end of the crank shaft 17 of the engine(not shown) whereby the shaft 15 may be connected with i the crank shaftfor starting the engine and for enabling the engine to operate the present mechanism. u

A sleeve or clutch member 18 is' slidable upon the rear protrudingendof'the shaft .18. When the sleeve 18 is moved forwardly, theshaftsil5 and 1'1 are disconnected, and

The sleeve 18' is P when the sleeve is moved realwvardly, said shaftsare connected to rotate together.

As a means for sliding the sleeve or clutch member 18, the ring 23 ismounted upon the sleeve 18 so that the ring 23 moves with the sleeve 18,and so that the sleeve can rotate within said ring, and a bell crank orL-shaped lever 24 at one end pivotally con-- nected to the ring 23. Theelbow or the lever 24 is fulcrumed at 21 to one side of the case 4, andthe other arm of the lever 21' extends forwardly in order that it mayheswung by ,hand. The said side of the case has an outstanding pincooperating with the arm or handle of the lever 24. said arm or handlebeing resilient in order that it may be sprung outwardly to allow it tomove past the pin-25. The handle of the lever 24 may be engaged above orbelow the pin 25 for holding the sleeve 18 either out of engagement orin engagement with the shaft 17.

The forward end of the shaft 15' is preferably provided with acrank 26for ena 'bling the engine to be cranked or started, and the portion '14of the case 4 is preferably connected by stays or braces 27 tothechassis C for strengthening the structure.

Ordinarily, the arms 10 are swung rearwardly, to disengage the reels 8from the worm wheel 3, and the sleeve 18 is disengaged from the shaft17. Should the automobile become stuck in the mud, sand, or the like,one or both of the cables may be unwound and fastened to a tree, orotherwise anchored to an object in front of the Vehicle, the reels 8rotating freely to allow the cables to be unwound. Then, the reels 8 aremoved inwardly into engagement with the clutch hub ofthe worm wheel 3,and the arms 10 are swung forwardly and downwardly tohold the reelsengaged tothe worm wheel. Then, by operating the lever 24:,the sleeve orclutch member 18 may be moved rearwardly into engagement with the shaft17, and then when the engine is started, the worm 16-will be rotated bythe crank or driving shaft 17, for slowly rotating the worm wheel 3QThis Will cause the cable or cables to be wound upon the reel or reelsand the car will therefore be pulled or extricated out of the rut. Afterthe engine is able to progress without aid,

-worm wheel and reel having cooperating clutch portions, a memberpivoted to the chassis to swing between the chassis and reel for holdingthe reel in engagement with the worm wheel, a shaft alining with thecrank shaft and having a worm meshing with said worm wheel, and meansfor connecting and disconnecting the last named shaftwith the crankshaft.

2. The combination with the chassis and crank shaft of a motor vehicle,of a transverse shaft carried by the chassis ad acent the forward end, areel slidable upon said shaft, a case, a worm wheel mounted upon saidshaft and disposed within the said case, the worm wheel having a clutchhub engaged through the case, the reel having a -clutch portionengageable with said clutch hub. means for holding the reel inengagement with said clutch hub, a worm shaft journaled through the casein alinemcnt with the crank shaft and having a worm meshing with saidworm wheel, a clutch member slidalole upon the worm shaft and engageablewith the crank shaft to connect the same, and an operating leverfulcrumedto said case and operatively"connected to said sleeve forsliding it.

In testimony that 1 claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

v OSCAR 'I. BUTTS. Witnesses:

C. L. SPALDING, .I'IARRY MARKIIAM.

